Afro-Cuban

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July 16, 2026

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Afro-Cuban refers to people of African descent in Cuba. The African influence on Cuban culture is significant, particularly in music and dance, stemming from the large number of Africans imported as slaves to work on sugar plantations. These enslaved people came from diverse groups, primarily from West and Central Africa, such as the Yoruba and Bantu peoples.123

The African heritage is evident in various Cuban music and dance forms, including rumba, son, and Afro-Cuban jazz. These cultural expressions often reflect a blend of African rhythms and Spanish influences. While white Europeans, mainly from Spain, have historically been the dominant ethnic group, people of mixed African and European descent (mulattoes) and those of African heritage (Blacks) have profoundly shaped Cuban identity. Despite progress, some Black and mulatto Cubans still face racial discrimination.324

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Cuba
Occupation by the United States
…was effectively racist and eliminated Afro-Cubans from politics. The Platt Amendment (1901) gave the United States the right to oversee Cuba’s international commitments, economy, and internal affairs and to establish a naval station at Guantánamo Bay on the island’s southeastern coast. Most of its provisions were repealed in 1934, but…
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…was effectively racist and eliminated Afro-Cubans from politics. The Platt Amendment (1901) gave the United States the right to oversee Cuba’s international commitments, economy, and internal affairs and to establish a naval station at Guantánamo Bay on the island’s southeastern coast. Most of its provisions were repealed in 1934, but…
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Latin American music
The early 20th century
Cuban afrocubanismo (the rediscovery of Afro-Cuban culture and its music by poets, artists, and musicians) became the most suitable source of national expression for Amadeo Roldán and Alejandro García Caturla, the outstanding 20th-century representatives of nationalism in Cuba. Afro-Cuban instruments, rhythmic structure, and folklore in general were at the basis…
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Cuban afrocubanismo (the rediscovery of Afro-Cuban culture and its music by poets, artists, and musicians) became the most suitable source of national expression for Amadeo Roldán and Alejandro García Caturla, the outstanding 20th-century representatives of nationalism in Cuba. Afro-Cuban instruments, rhythmic structure, and folklore in general were at the basis…
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Fernando Ortiz
…in the emergence of the Afro-Cuban movement, a trend in the arts—particularly in music, dance, and literature—that incorporated and celebrated the African component of Cuban culture.
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…in the emergence of the Afro-Cuban movement, a trend in the arts—particularly in music, dance, and literature—that incorporated and celebrated the African component of Cuban culture.
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